


Sunbeam

by la luna (moontrimmer)



Series: Encantadas [5]
Category: Amar a Muerte (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, F/F, Magical moments, don't mind me just editing the tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-05
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:47:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22572724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moontrimmer/pseuds/la%20luna
Summary: A not-so-ordinary afternoon in summer, some years after they first met.
Relationships: Valentina Carvajal & Juliana Valdés, Valentina Carvajal/Juliana Valdés
Series: Encantadas [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1381516
Comments: 21
Kudos: 98





	Sunbeam

**Author's Note:**

> As the summary says, this is set some years after Juls & Val first met.
> 
> I always knew, when I decided to develop this AU into an actual fic and share it, that I would be jumping around in the timeline.
> 
> This is the first "time-skip" of many.

Juliana sighed for the fifth time in as many minutes. She glanced at the wall clock; there was still almost an hour left before she could leave work and go home.

She was working for Rafaela, one of the most well-known fashion designers in wizarding Mexico, and even the whole wizarding world. She had started as an assistant in one of Rafaela’s shops but the designer had “seen her potential” -- as Rafaela had put it -- and had her transferred to the inner office. Now Juliana got to assist in creating the mockups of clothes from design sketches and, sometimes, she even got to help out in the designs themselves.

Juliana loved her job, she really did, but it had been a long week and she couldn’t wait to retreat to her bedroom and curl up in bed and cuddle with Mia.

Unbidden, her mind drifted to Valentina, and it was all she could do not to start crying on the spot. She could not, however, stop the painful squeezing feeling in her chest. She felt ridiculous about it, but she missed Valentina so much, and no amount of drowning herself in work or cuddling with Mia could alleviate it. Worse, she kept thinking about Valentina falling in love with dozens of random people. It made her stomach churn and she wanted to throw up.

Before she could spiral, the click of heels on hardwood floors drew her attention to her boss, who had just entered the room.

“Juliana,” Rafaela began, “you’re still here. Why don’t you go and head on home? Or wherever it is you kids go to on Fridays.”

“I-- it isn’t yet time, Rafaela,” she pointed out. The woman had refused to be called by anything other than her name. “And I’m not done with this,” she added, motioning to the design on the drafting table in front of her. She had been tasked with modifying its measurements; most of her other coworkers found it a boring job, but she liked studying the works of the professionals.

Rafaela waved her hand at Juliana’s reply. “It’s Friday. That’ll keep for next week. Go on,” she cajoled when Juliana didn’t move.

Tired, Juliana let herself be convinced. “Gracias, Rafaela.”

Her boss nodded graciously. “You’re back to working half-days next week, right?” she asked with a knowing smirk as Juliana picked up her things.

Juliana smiled shyly. “Yeah.”

Working for Rafaela was the best summer job she’d ever had; she got to do something she loved and the high value of wizarding currency meant she was earning twice more than all of her previous summer jobs combined. She’d been working a full-time schedule for the past two weeks, but she’d only worked mornings normally. She still wanted to enjoy her summer.

Rafaela laughed lightly. “Very well, then. I’ll see you next week.”

“See you, Rafaela. Thank you again.”

Juliana arrived at her apartment building almost an hour later.

She lived in a Muggle neighbourhood in Mexico City. It had no nearby Floo Stations, so she had to take a bus ride to get home. She was still adjusting to dealing with the city’s traffic since she’d been used to travelling by Side-Along Apparition to and from work.

She went up to the apartment, trudging up three flights of stairs, and made a beeline for her bedroom when she saw that no one was in the living area. She was unsurprised to find Mia on the bed, sleeping soundly.

Juliana dropped her bag on her study desk and flopped face-first onto her bed. The motion woke up Mia, who let out a noise of protest. Juliana turned her head towards her, smiling tiredly.

“Hola bebé,” she greeted, stroking Mia’s pink hair.

The Pygmy Puff stopped squeaking at Juliana’s ministrations.

Mia was too small to wrap in a tight hug, but Juliana shifted so she was lying on her side and she could hold Mia close to her chest. The Pygmy Puff let out a satisfied squeak and Juliana’s smile widened.

She’d first seen Mia towards the end of the previous school year. It had been one of those weekends when students in the third year and above were allowed to leave school. Juliana and Valentina had gone to one of New York’s hidden magical alleys. They had been strolling hand in hand, looking at the shop windows, when Juliana had seen a tiny Pygmy Puff in a pet shop, sitting forlornly in a cage separate from the other Pygmy Puffs. The owner had said that Mia had been ill, her hair falling off, and Juliana’s heart had gone out to the small creature. The owner had given Mia to her, refusing payment, and Juliana had nursed her back to health with Valentina’s help.

Now Mia sported a vibrant coat of fluffy pink hair, hiding the tiny scar on her back which she’d gotten from the time Juliana had introduced her to Valiant. Valentina’s great grey owl had not taken kindly to all the attention Juliana had been giving her new pet, and he’d pecked Mia without warning when Juliana presented her to him. Mia had gotten away from the incident mostly unscathed, though she and Valiant still held a deep distrust for each other, to Valentina’s utter consternation.

The thought of her girlfriend, so far away in London, made a long low whine spring out from Juliana’s chest. She only stopped when Mia bumped affectionately against her chin, as though to give comfort. Juliana shifted back so she could meet Mia’s eyes.

“I miss her,” she pouted at her pet Pygmy Puff, not caring that she was being clingy. It was only Mia, she could be honest with her, mostly because Mia could not talk.

Now that Valentina was seventeen and going into her last year of school, her father had gotten her more involved in her family’s businesses. She’d had to shadow her dad for two weeks, travelling with him to Toledo in Spain for the first week and now to London. The reasons for their trip to London had been two-fold: first to check out a Healing research project her dad was funding; and second so Valentina could learn under a renowned Healer how to detect love potions.

After the incident with Guille last year, when a girl had given him a love potion so he’d go on a date with her and he’d gotten violent when someone had tried to talk to the said girl, León had made both him and Eva take a course in detecting love potions with the same Healer who was helping Valentina. Valentina could only take the course now because the Healer had refused to accept her before she was of consenting age, for the reason that she needed to drink the potions in order to learn how to recognise and combat their effects after ingestion.

It was that fact that made Juliana feel queasy. Valentina had told her all about it and had even asked for her permission even though she hadn’t needed to. Juliana had agreed, of course, but there was a part of her that worried that Valentina would ingest a strong enough love potion and fall permanently in love with someone else. Valentina hadn’t given any indication to that effect; she still gazed at Juliana with those adoring blue eyes whenever they’d talked on the Floo Glass, but Juliana could not stop her unwelcome thoughts.

The two of them talked every day, even twice on most days, but it was not enough for Juliana. She and Valentina had never been apart for more than a couple of days since Christmas of Juliana’s third year. That had been half a year before they’d gotten together. She was not used to not having Valentina close, with her sunny smiles and sweet kisses that always brightened Juliana’s day.

Valentina had been the one who’d cried when Juliana had seen her off two weeks ago, but Juliana had found herself close to tears almost every time they would say goodbye on the Floo Glass. She couldn’t even call Valentina right now, like she normally would every afternoon when she got off work. Valentina had told Juliana earlier that day that she and her dad had been invited to a dinner party that would last the whole night. Valentina would be wearing a pretty dress, looking very beautiful right at that moment all the way across the ocean, and Juliana had no way of seeing it immediately because she couldn’t call and no one in the wizarding world had thought of a way to send pictures through magic.

Annoyed with herself, Juliana sat up abruptly, earning a surprised squeak from Mia. She looked around her room to see if there was a mess she could clean up but she’d been cleaning compulsively over the past couple of weeks and, apart from her bag on the desk, nothing was out of place.

Her eyes moved to the large cork board on the wall, where she’d pinned her favourite sketches, both magical and otherwise. There was a drawing of Ilvermorny castle as well as several designs of clothes in different styles, but the ones she loved best were the sketches she’d done of Valentina.

Below the board, in pride of place on her desk, were four framed photographs. One of them was a Muggle photo of herself and her mother; the rest were moving magical pictures of Valentina or of herself and Valentina.

Valentina was smiling toothily at the camera in her solo picture, her dimples showing while her eyes disappeared. Juliana had first seen it in one of Valentina’s photo albums when they’d still been just friends, and she’d asked for a copy of it after they’d gotten together. The two photos Juliana and Valentina had together were in a single frame. The one on the right, with both of them in dresses, had been taken only two months ago, during a fancy _fiesta_ that had introduced Valentina to wizarding Mexico’s _alta sociedad_ along with a few other witches and wizards her age. The one on the left was a copy of their first photo together, taken during Juliana’s first year and Valentina’s third.

Juliana smiled, remembering how Valentina, greeting her after a couple of weeks apart over the winter holidays, had enthusiastically declared that they must get a photo together. Valentina had the original on her photo rack in her bedroom but she also displayed a copy in her dorm room in Ilvermorny. Juliana had a copy in her own dorm room as well, and for a while that had been the only place she could display it in.

That was until the summer of last year, when she and her mother had finally been completely rid of El Chino, and Lupé had moved them from their tiny trailer in San Antonio to a cozy two-bedroom apartment in Mexico City. Now that she had her own bedroom, and with magical Mexico’s Statute of Secrecy being far less strict than that of the USA, Juliana could display anything she wanted in her own space. But the best thing about it was living close to Valentina, whose family’s mansion was located somewhere in the outskirts of the city, although they hadn’t been able to take advantage of that fact for the past two weeks.

Juliana huffed, trying to shake herself out of her funk. She stood up, moving towards the desk and opening her bag. She took out her wand and Floo Glass, which she’d placed on top of the folded robes she’d worn to work, and put them on top of the desk. Unlike in the USA, she was allowed to carry her wand outside of school in Mexico. And like most other Latin American countries, she was actually allowed to _do_ magic outside of school starting from the time she’d turned fifteen, which had been several months ago.

Juliana was just about to take out her robes when the unmistakable ‘pop’ of Apparition sounded right behind her. Acting on reflex, Juliana picked up her wand, whipping around and pointing it at the intruder, only to find her girlfriend at the other end of it.

Valentina stared bemusedly at the end of Juliana’s wand for a second before raising her hands up, not in surrender but in an obvious gesture of celebration. “Sorpresa!”

Juliana took a moment’s stunned silence to process the fact that Valentina was right in front of her, then her brain caught up to the situation and she closed the distance between them, unconsciously dropping her wand as she threw her arms around Valentina. Valentina was quick to reciprocate, lowering her raised arms to wrap them around Juliana, nuzzling her neck and running a hand up and down her back. Juliana pressed her face against Valentina’s shoulder, closing her eyes as she rubbed her thumb at the spot above Valentina’s shoulder blade.

They stood that way for a few minutes, breathing each other in. Warmth sprung up from Juliana’s chest and she felt lighter than she had in weeks. They pulled away from the embrace only to touch foreheads.

“You’re here,” Juliana whispered, gazing up at Valentina’s eyes. She tucked Valentina’s hair behind her shoulders, fingers grazing against her neck, making her eyes flutter.

Valentina smiled, bumping their noses together. Her hands travelled down to Juliana’s hips, squeezing. “I am.”

There was nothing else to be said at that moment. Juliana raised her head by a fraction as Valentina lowered hers, erasing the remaining space between them.

The touch of Valentina’s lips against hers sent a pleasant tingle through Juliana’s body, all the way down to the tips of her toes. She felt Valentina running her hands up her back and pulling her closer by the shoulders. She let her hands drop down to Valentina’s waist, caressing the length of her back, tightening her hold so their bodies were flush against each other. Valentina’s tongue brushed against her lips, Juliana granted her silent request, allowing Valentina to deepen their kiss. Heat exploded out of her chest and belly, making her almost dizzy.

They had kissed countless times since their first, each time a little different than the last, but always, to Juliana, kissing Valentina felt like bathing in cool morning sunlight. Warm, and hot, and blissful.

Eventually, the need for air took over. Juliana pulled away, laughing when Valentina stole two quick kisses before letting go.

“Hi,” Juliana whispered in greeting, their foreheads still connected.

“Hey,” Valentina whispered back, her eyes still dilated.

Juliana leaned back to get a better view of the face she’d missed seeing up close. Valentina’s lips were turned up in a slight smile, looking so enticing that Juliana had to give her another quick kiss at the corner of her mouth. “How are you here?”

Valentina smirked. “Well, I took a flying carriage from London to--”

Juliana pushed her lightly on the shoulder. “You know that’s not what I mean.”

Valentina laughed, catching Juliana’s hand on her shoulder. She used the connection to pull Juliana towards the bed. Juliana followed her willingly. Juliana toed off her sneakers while Valentina kicked the heels of her boots together in a certain pattern, magically loosening the clamps so she could take them off easily. They settled themselves in the middle of the twin bed, sitting with their backs against the wall, legs tangled together, Valentina’s arm over Juliana’s shoulder, their hands connected by interlocked fingers.

“I thought you wouldn’t be coming home until Monday,” Juliana said, looking up at Valentina through her lashes. Juliana, who had only been working full days when Valentina was away, had planned to go directly to Valentina’s house after she finished work in the morning to wait for her there.

“I convinced dad to let me come home early,” Valentina replied with a smile, which turned into a pout as she continued talking. “I couldn’t take being away from you for so long, Juls. I was wasting away!”

Juliana giggled at Valentina’s theatrics, though she understood the feeling completely.

“There really was a dinner party,” Valentina added. “But did you honestly think I’d choose to stay at a party instead of talking to you?” she asked softly, the warmth of her gaze making Juliana blush.

Juliana shook her head, pressing her face against Valentina’s shoulder to hide her flushed cheeks. She had felt a little hurt that Valentina had asked her not to call, but she also understood that Valentina had responsibilities to her family, some of which involved attending fancy parties. She communicated all of this with a groan against Valentina’s shoulder.

Valentina laughed before continuing. “Anyway, dad agreed that I didn’t have anything more to do there. Neither of us did, and he actually came home with me. We took a flying carriage direct to the mansion, I dropped my things there, Apparated here, and now here we are!”

“Here we are,” Juliana echoed. She reached out with her other hand, pulling Valentina closer to give her another kiss. “Although you scared me again by Apparating behind me,” she added, slapping Valentina lightly on the arm.

Valentina had gotten her Apparition Licence when she’d turned seventeen. She hadn’t been able to Apparate much when they’d been at Ilvermorny, but she’d made the most of it since the start of the summer holidays. She liked to Apparate directly into Juliana’s bedroom from her house, or the other way around, often taking Juliana Side-Along with her. When Juliana had started her summer job working for Rafaela, Valentina had insisted on Apparating her to and from work. Juliana had tried to protest, not wanting Valentina to have to wake up early, but Valentina won her over with those blue eyes and an adorable pout. Except for the two weeks she’d been away, Valentina would take Juliana to her workplace every morning, then pick her up at lunchtime so they could spend the rest of the day together.

“Well, I’m sorry that I can’t pinpoint exactly where I would appear when I Apparate,” Valentina was saying in mock protest. “I can’t exactly Apparate into your living room, I don’t want to give your mom a scare.”

“But you’re fine with giving _me_ a scare?”

“I’ve been Apparating to and from your bedroom for over a month, Juls,” Valentina pointed out, her eyes shining in mirth, “you should be used to it by now.”

“I didn’t have warning today!” Juliana protested, doing her best not to laugh.

“Maybe I’ll just Apparate to your bathroom,” Valentina replied, biting her lip and wiggling her eyebrows suggestively at Juliana.

Juliana knew exactly what Valentina was thinking, but she said, “And catch my mom there?”

Valentina’s nose wrinkled in disgust, and it was that reaction that finally made Juliana burst out laughing.

“Stop,” Valentina complained, taking Juliana’s arms and trapping them under her own. She used the hold to pull Juliana closer to her so that their faces were inches apart.

“Make me,” Juliana replied, voice low, her eyes on Valentina’s plump lips.

Valentina did not need further encouragement, capturing Juliana’s lips in her own. They kissed deeply for several moments, limbs all tangled up together. Valentina pulled back to take off her white summer robe, revealing a black tank top underneath, and an expanse of smooth skin begging to be touched. Before Juliana could do anything about the sight before her, Valentina leaned back in, trailing kisses from her ear to the base of her neck.

“Hm, Juls,” Valentina whispered into her neck. “You smell so good. So good. There’s nothing quite like the real thing.”

Juliana did not have the capacity to try to understand what Valentina was saying. Valentina’s tongue and lips on her neck, and the vibration of her voice against it, was sending shivers down her spine. They hadn’t done anything past hands on bare breasts under bunched-up tops but she knew Valentina was ready for far more than that. Valentina always let Juliana dictate their pace and in times like these, with the scent of Valentina’s hair all around her, and Valentina’s skin bare before her, soft, and smooth, and oh so tempting, Juliana wanted to push past her own boundaries for as far as she could take them.

Juliana disentangled their legs, climbing onto Valentina’s lap before she could protest at the loss of contact.

Valentina had time to say, “Oh, hm, yes,” before Juliana shut her up with a kiss. A few moments later, Valentina whispered into her mouth, “I missed kissing you so much, Juls. Your lips taste so sweet, so… exquisite.”

Valentina liked to talk during their make-out sessions and it drove Juliana absolutely crazy. She let her hand travel up Valentina’s arms, her palms sliding against Valentina’s smooth skin. When she got to Valentina’s shoulders, Juliana tightened her arms around her, drawing her so close that not even a hair’s breadth separated their bodies. Valentina responded by wrapping her arms around Juliana’s waist, hands slowly running up her back underneath her shirt. Valentina shifted, guiding Juliana onto her back on the bed.

They were interrupted by a high-pitched squeak.

There was a lump beneath Juliana’s shoulder. She quickly shifted sideways even as Valentina rolled off of her, almost falling off the bed with their momentum had it not been for Juliana’s arm around her.

The angry squeaking by Juliana’s ear continued.

“Oh no,” Valentina said worriedly, propping herself up on her elbow, her gaze directed behind Juliana. She sat up and leaned over Juliana, scooping Mia up to settle on her hands. “I’m so sorry, baby, I didn’t see you there.”

Valentina sat up crossed-legged, thighs pressed against Juliana’s. Juliana took that moment to pull her shirt back down over her exposed stomach.

“Are you okay?” Valentina asked Mia, nuzzling her nose against the Pygmy Puff’s furry face.

Mia responded with a satisfied squeak.

Juliana took a deep, composing breath as she stared at the two of them. Valentina, face and neck and shoulders still pink, was matching with Mia perfectly. Juliana let out a short burst of laughter, overcome with mirth at the sight, at Valentina talking to her pet, and at their interrupted make-out session. Valentina turned her attention away from Mia and looked at her, beaming, looking so bright and beautiful and _angelic_ that the heat in Juliana’s limbs and belly was replaced with warmth radiating from her chest.

She loved this girl so much. They hadn’t said “ _te amo_ ” yet, but the words hovered around Juliana’s mind, always at the tip of her tongue. Wanting to express that, she sat up, cradling Valentina’s face, and captured her lips in a soft kiss. She tried to deepen it, but was stopped by another outburst of angry squeaks.

Juliana pulled back from the kiss, groan-laughing as she put her head against Valentina’s shoulder. Valentina let out a short giggle before turning her head to press a kiss against the side of Juliana’s.

Juliana looked down at Mia between them. The Pygmy Puff was sitting awkwardly on Valentina’s lap. It seemed Valentina had dropped her during their kiss. It was only a short fall but it must have given her a shock and Mia was not happy. The Pygmy Puff was looking up at Juliana with a very displeased expression.

Juliana scooped her up gently. “I’m sorry, baby,” she said, pulling back and sitting cross-legged so her knees were touching Valentina’s.

Unimpressed, Mia continued glaring at her. In turn, Juliana gave her a pout.

Valentina burst out into giggles. “You two are so adorable.”

Juliana turned to her, intending to protest Valentina’s choice of words, only to be met with a gaze so tender Juliana’s breath caught in her throat.

“Val, stop looking at me like that,” Juliana said with a groan, lowering her hands, and Mia on it, to her lap.

Valentina smirked. This was a game they liked to play. “How do you want me to look at you?”

“In a way that won’t make me want to kiss you senseless,” Juliana said frankly.

Valentina grin widened, her eyes sparkling. “Hm,” she let out, leaning forward and reaching both hands out to either side of Juliana’s neck, thumbs caressing her jaw. “That sounds impossible, _chiquita_ ,” she whispered before placing her lips on Juliana’s.

Juliana slowly lowered Mia onto their legs as she kissed Valentina back. She ran her hands up Valentina’s thigh, prompting Valentina to kiss her deeper. She was just about to get to Valentina’s hips when another series of squeaks reached her ears.

The two of them pulled back, caught each other’s eyes, and promptly dissolved into giggles.

Recovering, Juliana looked down at her pet Pygmy Puff, who stared happily back at her. Juliana narrowed her eyes. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you? You little interrupting… interrupter.”

Valentina burst out laughing again. “Here,” she gently picked Mia up. “Let’s get you on your little pillow so we won’t bother you, yeah, baby?” she said to the Pygmy Puff.

Valentina stood up, carrying Mia in her hands, and deposited the pink Pygmy Puff on Juliana’s desk, carefully settling her on top of the equally pink pillow that Valentina had bought for her.

Juliana used the opportunity to get a good look at her girlfriend. Valentina was wearing one of those trousers that were loose at the bottom but nicely fitting from the knees up. The hem of her tank top rode a little high on her waist, and her long hair was mussed up from their recent activities.

Juliana took several deep breaths, tamping down on her desire to kiss Valentina again. Lupé would be coming home soon and she wanted to actually _talk_ to Valentina as well. She could see Valentina taking several deep breaths of her own before turning back to face her. They gazed at each other, silently agreeing to control themselves before things got out of hand.

Valentina approached the bed, but stopped when her foot hit Juliana’s wand on the floor. She frowned and picked it up before raising an eyebrow at Juliana. Juliana gave her a sheepish smile in return. She stared, feeling an odd but welcome sense of belonging as Valentina turned back to put her wand on the desk.

Juliana’s wand was made of hornbeam wood with a quetzal feather core. Like its Muggle counterparts, particularly the resplendent species, the magical quetzal boasted a plumage of vibrant green and red. Unlike its Muggle counterparts, the magical quetzal had the ability to discharge electricity, although the magizoologists referred to it as lightning. Despite its relative obscurity in the rest of the world, a quetzal feather wand was not unheard of in Mexico. Both Valentina’s and her father’s wands also had quetzal feather cores.

Having gotten hers in the USA, Juliana had no idea how she’d ended up with a wand that had a quetzal feather core. Combined with hornbeam, a wood that made for fiercely loyal wands, Juliana’s wand had a tendency to zap anyone else who tried to touch it, the discharge having grown stronger the longer she’d owned it. Strangely enough, or perhaps not, Valentina could hold her wand without getting zapped.

It was as though the wand knew Juliana’s love for her, and so made an exception. At least, that was the only explanation Juliana could think of. She likened it to Mia, who seemed to feel like she belonged more to Valentina than to Juliana.

Even now, Mia was purring like a cat as Valentina stroked her fur after putting Juliana’s wand next to her pillow. The Pygmy Puff never made that sound with Juliana.

“I think Mia loves you more than me,” Juliana observed lightly.

⁂

Valentina was using the excuse of stroking Mia’s fur to give herself more time to get composed. She did not know if she could really refrain from kissing Juliana again. She had to take another deep breath before turning back to face Juliana. Her girlfriend looked so beautiful in her white shirt and blue jeans, a gentle smile on her face as she gazed up at Valentina with twinkling eyes. Valentina did her best to focus on Juliana’s words, smiling when they registered with her.

“Okay, that is just untrue,” Valentina replied, leaning against the desk behind her as she gazed down at Juliana, who was still sitting on the bed. “And even if it were,” she added, raising up her pointer finger, “we’d just be even because Valiant loves you more than me.”

“Now, _that’s_ untrue,” Juliana returned, smirking. “You’ve had him for what-- three years before we met. It’s impossible that he would love me more than you.”

“It’s not impossible,” Valentina said as she pushed herself off of the desk and began walking towards Juliana. “It’s _fact_. That’s why he pecked Mia when he saw you had a new pet. He was jealous.”

“That’s just crazy.”

“It’s not crazy,” Valentina said, chuckling at Juliana’s stubbornness. “Valiant simply loves you more.” She couldn’t really blame the owl. “It’s because you’re so loveable,” she added, pinching Juliana’s cheek as she sat on the bed beside her.

“Ya, Val!” Juliana exclaimed, swatting her hand away, the protest belied by her giggles.

Valentina felt her heart soar at the sound of Juliana’s laughter. They’d called each other everyday the whole time she was in London, but it could never compare to having Juliana right in front of her. She pushed herself forwards, wrapping her arms around Juliana as she buried her head in Juliana’s neck.

“Te extrañé, Juls,” Valentina whispered into her neck. “Y te quiero mucho. I hate being away from you.”

Juliana let out a commiserating hum as she ran a hand down Valentina’s hair. “Yo tambien, Val. Te extrañé, y te quiero. _Tanto_. But I’m glad you’re here now.” She pulled back a little to give Valentina another quick kiss before asking, “Why don’t you tell me about London?”

“I think I’ve told you everything, Juls,” Valentina replied. It was true, more or less. She hadn’t told Juliana about her family’s businesses or about her lessons with the Healer to detect love potions, but only because she thought the former would bore Juliana, and she hadn’t seemed to want to know anything about the latter. Instead, Valentina had told Juliana about all of the places she and her dad had visited in London, both Muggle and magical.

“But…” Valentina continued, reaching over Juliana to grab her robe, which was lying rumpled at the foot of the bed. “I have a present for you.” She patted around in the robe’s pockets, bypassing her wand, until she found what she was looking for: a corked vial filled with a liquid of a pearly-lavender colour. “Of course, I got you some other things too.” Juliana opened her mouth, obviously to protest, so Valentina quickly added, “Ones we’ve already agreed on. But they’re in my luggage and I forgot to bring them in my hurry to get here,” she explained sheepishly.

“But this one,” Valentina held up the vial of potion for Juliana to see. The liquid shone under the late afternoon sunlight streaming in through the window. “This one was given to me by Healer Patil,” she said, meaning the Healer who had been teaching her. “It’s not a love potion,” she added hurriedly, and Juliana gave her a look that said that the thought hadn’t even occurred to her. “But it’s a component of a very powerful one. A harmless component,” she added reassuringly. “Healer Patil actually gives it to all of her students-- well, she calls us her ‘clients’, but she gave me two vials for completing the course quickly,” she said proudly, extending the vial towards Juliana.

Juliana accepted the vial, her brows furrowing cutely as she stared curiously at the potion inside it. “What is it?”

“I’ll tell you later, but you have to smell it first,” Valentina said.

Juliana gave her a sceptical look, Valentina returned it with a smile, and an expression of what seemed like understanding settled on Juliana’s face. She pulled out the cork from the vial and smelled the potion inside it, her eyes closing as she inhaled its fragrance.

Even from where she was sitting, several inches away from Juliana, Valentina could smell it too. Of course, they would be perceiving different things. For Valentina, she smelled fresh parchment, homemade quesadilla, and, overpoweringly, that sweet fragrance which was a mix of Juliana’s perfume and that scent that was uniquely hers. It was never like the real thing, of course, Valentina had confirmed that as she’d nuzzled against Juliana’s neck, but it was close enough to it that she could understand why people would want to drink the actual love potion when it was very easily distinguishable.

“What do you smell?” Valentina asked, smiling expectantly, when Juliana remained silent, having taken a few more sniffs of the potion.

Juliana looked at her, biting down on her lower lip as her mouth turned up into a smile. “Uh, it smells a bit like the Excite-a-Sketch potion--”

Valentina nodded. That was expected.

“--and… pozole _?_ ”

Valentina smiled. Pozole was Juliana’s favourite among her mom’s dishes.

“And,” Juliana looked up at her, “I think that’s it.”

Valentina’s smile fell, but before she could despair over what that meant -- or didn’t mean -- Juliana started chuckling.

“Your face!” she exclaimed. “Aw, no te pongas así,” she reached out with her free hand to thumb at Valentina’s lips, as though trying to erase her pout. “I’m sorry for messing with you. The most obvious scent here is your shampoo, but not from the bottle. I can smell the way it smells on your hair,” she explained, her cheeks taking on a pinkish tinge.

Valentina would have found her blush adorable, but she was still processing Juliana’s joke. “Don’t tease me,” she said, bouncing her legs against the bed in emphasis.

“I’m sorry.” Juliana sounded sincere, but she was still smiling. “I thought you’d realise right away that I was joking. Of course I’d smell something that was yours,” she added casually.

Valentina was a little annoyed at Juliana’s joke, but she was also melting at her words. She responded by taking Juliana’s arms in both of hers and playfully pushing her, smiling-laughing the whole time.

“Ay, Val!” Juliana said in alarm. “You’ll spill the potion.”

“That’s what you get for teasing me,” she said, letting Juliana go and pretending to be upset, though she couldn’t contain her smile. “Maybe I should take that back.”

Juliana drew the vial to her chest. “No, you already gave it to me. No take backs,” she declared, putting the cork back on the vial.

Valentina laughed, unable to continue pretending that she was mad. “Can you really smell my shampoo?”

“Yeah,” Juliana said, giving her a sweet smile. “Well, your hair actually.”

Valentina smiled back at her, completely charmed. The potion was an important component of the Amortentia, the world’s most powerful love potion. The Amortentia itself had been banned in most countries for years, but it was not illegal to brew the part of it that gave the potion its ability to imitate the smell of something one loved. Even the latter was still notoriously difficult to brew, its ingredients quite expensive, so it was not commonplace. Madame Patil had told Valentina that it was a good thing, as the potion had a tendency to get addictive, especially to those who had lost their loved ones.

But Juliana was right in front of her. “I can smell you too,” she said softly. She leaned over to bury her head in Juliana’s neck, breathing deeply. “I can smell this.” It _was_ addictive.

Juliana turned her head sideways and took a deep breath. Valentina knew she was smelling her hair. She smiled, thinking about how lucky she was to have Juliana reciprocate her feelings. She did not even mind that Juliana had teased her. As much as she tried to pretend otherwise, she loved being on the receiving end of Juliana’s brand of teasing.

Valentina was drawn away from her reverie when a particular fact registered in her mind. She pulled away from Juliana and gave her a confused frown. “Wait, how did you know that this potion would smell like whatever you love?”

Juliana would not have known to tease her, probably only thinking that the potion smelled like her shampoo, had she not known what the potion could do.

“Well, when you asked me to smell it and said it’s a component of a powerful love potion, I thought you might mean the Amortentia.”

“Yeah,” Valentina said, smiling, “but how did you know about the Amortentia?”

Juliana was only about to start her fifth year at Ilvermorny. Valentina didn’t remember ever studying about the Amortentia before her fifth year at school, or ever. She’d only learned it from Madame Patil. Juliana was quite good at Potions, but she hadn’t shown any particular interest in the subject, at least not beyond what was taught in classes.

Juliana started worrying her fingernails with her teeth as she mumbled something behind her hand.

Valentina reflexively pulled Juliana’s hand away from her mouth. “What?”

“I said, I might have researched about love potions,” Juliana repeated, not meeting her eyes.

“What? Why?”

“Because.”

“Because?”

“Because, I was worried that some of those potions might have a permanent effect, okay!” Juliana burst out, glancing briefly at Valentina before looking away from her again and crossing her arms in front of her.

Valentina opened her mouth, then closed it again a moment later. Her lips started stretching into a smile.

Probably wondering why she hadn’t said anything, Juliana looked back at her. “Ya, Val, don’t laugh at me,” she said, uncrossing her arms only to give Valentina’s leg a light slap.

“I wasn’t laughing at you,” Valentina denied vehemently, though she was unable to stop herself from grinning.

“You’re smiling,” Juliana pointed out, but she was starting to smile as well. “I know I’m being stupid.”

“What, no you’re not,” Valentina said. “I didn’t know you were worried about that,” she added, becoming serious. “I wish you’d told me, Juls,” she said softly.

Juliana had a tendency to keep her less-than-happy feelings to herself. Valentina often had to draw it out of her.

“Val,” Juliana returned, just as softly, “I didn’t tell you because it’s a stupid thing to worry about.”

“You’re worrying about it enough to research about it, it’s not stupid.”

Juliana had nothing to say to that. Instead, she put the vial of potion she was still holding down on the bed beside her, then started picking at an imaginary loose thread on the sheets. Valentina hated being the cause of her distress, even though it was for something that meant she wouldn’t be inadvertently hurting Juliana because someone gave her a love potion.

She reached out for Juliana’s hand. “You wanna know what a love potion’s effect is really like?”

Juliana met her gaze. “I mean… I guess,” she said with a shrug before looking down again.

So Valentina told her.

The effects of love potions manifested in a strange obsession to be close to its subject, as well as please them. Without the intoxication factor of the stronger ones, it was easy to detect once one knew how to recognise it. It felt like a voice at the back of one’s head, with varying degrees of convincingness depending on the potion and person who had ingested it. Importantly, love potions did not at all supersede real feelings of love. Madame Patil had told Valentina that most people in a serious relationship could easily overcome the weaker varieties. Last year, Guille had been particularly susceptible to the weak potion he’d ingested because he didn’t have any serious feelings for anyone.

During the first session, Madame Patil had asked Valentina if she was seeing someone. Valentina had hesitantly told her about Juliana, wary that she might be judgmental, but the Healer had shown no signs of prejudice. Instead, she’d asked Valentina how long she’d known Juliana, how long they’d been together, and a few other things besides. After that interview, she’d given Valentina a potion that was “not the weakest one,” claiming that Valentina should be able to recognise its unnatural effect, and she had been right.

The rest of their sessions had been just a matter of training Valentina to overcome the stronger varieties, which had the added effect of making her feel as though her head was stuffed with cotton. Throughout all of it, Madame Patil had often reminded her to think of her feelings for Juliana, and to compare that with what the potions made her feel. That was easy.

The Healer hadn’t made Valentina try Amortentia because it was illegal to brew it, but she’d also said that the potion was easy to detect _before_ ingestion because it was impossible to mask the smell it gave off. Valentina just needed to remember not to drink or eat anything that smelled like Juliana. _That_ , she felt, would be harder.

“In a way,” she said to Juliana, “in a big way, really, my feelings for you actually help me to recognise love potions.” She made sure that Juliana was meeting her eyes as she poured all of what she felt in her gaze. “I know what it’s like to be in love, Juls, and the effects of those potions aren’t anything remotely like the real thing. They’d certainly never be permanent.”

Juliana gave her a shy smile. “Well,” she said, absently tapping her fingers against her thighs, “if you put it like that.”

Valentina responded with a wide grin. “I do put it like that,” she said, reaching out for Juliana’s hands again.

Juliana let out a short, almost nervous giggle. “Thank you for telling me, Val.”

Valentina beamed at her. “Of course.”

Juliana stared down at their joined hands, giving Valentina’s a squeeze. She looked back up to give Valentina a blazing gaze that felt like the warmth of a fire during cold weather. Valentina’s throat went dry. She could not move, pinned by Juliana’s gaze. She could only wait for what Juliana would do next. Finally, after what seemed like a moment’s internal struggle, Juliana surged forward to capture her lips in a searing kiss.

Juliana’s momentum sent them both tumbling down the bed. Valentina was sitting close to the edge. Almost half of her upper body hung over the side as her back hit the mattress. Juliana would have fallen past her and onto the floor had it not been for Valentina’s arms around her. She tightened her hold around Juliana and shifted so that they were in a safer position.

Juliana, lying half on top of her, started giggling. Valentina was quick to follow.

This was only one of the many times they’d almost fallen out of Juliana’s twin bed. Valentina had even fallen to the floor once during a particularly fierce tickling competition. Valentina’s bed at her house was a double, but they’d almost fallen out of that once or twice as well. Valentina made a mental note to get a queen bed when they would eventually move in together.

She was interrupted from her musings of their future when Juliana gave her a quick kiss before moving off of her, lying beside her instead.

“My mom will be here soon,” Juliana said through a long exhale.

Valentina nodded in understanding as she stared up at the ceiling. They could not let their kisses escalate. Lupé might have already accepted Valentina as her daughter’s girlfriend, but it had not been so long ago when the woman had yelled her out of the apartment after she’d caught them kissing in the kitchen. Neither of them wanted to risk getting caught by Lupé with their hands up each other’s shirts.

The image sent a pleasant shiver throughout Valentina’s body. She shook her head and rolled sideways, coming face to face with Juliana, who gave her a wry smile. Valentina giggled, knowing that Juliana knew exactly what she was thinking about.

Juliana reached out to run a hand up and down Valentina’s bare arms, leaving goosebumps in her wake.

Valentina’s heart started beating erratically. She took a deep breath to calm herself down. “Juls,” she whispered, eyes closed. “Stop doing that.”

“Sorry,” Juliana said, abruptly pulling her hand away.

Before she could mourn the loss of contact, Valentina felt Juliana take her hand instead. She opened her eyes and was immediately met with a tender gaze. Juliana pulled her hand towards her lips, giving it a long kiss as they quietly stared at each other.

Juliana broke the silence, but not their staring contest. “Te quiero, Val. Te quiero mucho. Estoy enamorada de ti.”

Warmth radiated from Valentina’s chest at the confession, spreading to her head and to the tips of her toes. Juliana had said it before, of course, but hearing it again never failed to make Valentina feel like she was floating. On a cloud of love.

“Yo tambien,” she said, staring deeply at Juliana’s brown eyes, so full of love and promise. “Estoy enamorada de ti. Mucho. Tanto.”

She wanted to say “ _Te amo_ ,” but she did not know if Juliana was quite there yet, and she did not want to overwhelm her with the weight of those words. Instead, to satisfy the need to express herself, Valentina inched forwards and gave Juliana a deep kiss, pouring all of her love into it.

They kissed for several minutes, never letting it go further. It was all feelings, all tenderness. Valentina felt like the two of them had melted together and become the very sunlight. When the need for air became apparent, they pulled back only for Juliana to tuck herself under her arm. They held each other close, arms tight around the other and legs tangled together.

They lay like that for a while, revelling in each other’s presence, hanging almost suspended in time within their little bubble as the world turned around them.

#### Bonus

Juliana tried to get up, but Valentina did not let her.

“No,” Valentina protested through a whine, tightening her arms around Juliana.

“Val,” Juliana whispered, half her face pressed against her girlfriend’s chest. “I have to make dinner so it’ll be ready when my mom gets home from work.”

Valentina took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. “Fine,” she said, reluctantly loosening her hold.

Juliana sat up and saw Valentina pouting at her. “Thank you,” she said wryly.

Valentina rolled her eyes, though she couldn’t help but smile at Juliana’s teasing. “Anytime, babe,” she returned jokingly.

Juliana laughed. She took a moment to gaze down at Valentina, who was smiling up at her with dopey eyes. She realised that it would have been after midnight in London, a few hours past the normal bedtime Valentina had kept to when she’d been there.

“Why don’t you take a nap,” Juliana suggested, running a hand through Valentina’s hair that had fanned out on her pillow, enjoying the way the silky strands felt between her fingers. “I’ll wake you up when dinner’s ready. You’ll stay for dinner, won’t you?” she asked, hoping Valentina would stay overnight as well.

“Yes, please,” Valentina replied. “I mean, yes, I’ll stay for dinner, but I’m not tired yet,” she added, sitting up as well. It was the truth. “I mean, I was tired on the trip here, but now that I’m here with you, I’m full of energy.”

Juliana shook her head, smiling. She would probably never get used to each new way Valentina effortlessly expressed her love.

Valentina was the first to get up, pulling Juliana along with her, the two of them laughing when they stumbled into each other. After putting on their shoes, Juliana picked up the vial of potion and put it on her desk while Valentina picked up her robe, which had fallen off the bed. Valentina fished out her wand from one of the robe’s pockets, folded the robe haphazardly, and stood up to put her wand next to Juliana’s on the desk.

Valentina then turned to look at Juliana, who was now standing in front of the mirror. She continued to stare as Juliana adjusted her clothes and smoothed her hair, feeling proud that she was the cause of their rumpled and mussed-up state. She walked up to her side and eyed Juliana’s neck as Juliana put her hair up into a ponytail.

“What?” Juliana asked, pausing in her task.

Valentina tore her eyes away from Juliana’s jaw to meet her gaze in the mirror. “You look beautiful.”

“In these shirt and jeans?” Juliana said incredulously, dropping her hands after she finished tightening her ponytail.

“You look beautiful always, Juls,” said Valentina.

Juliana sucked in a breath. After two weeks apart, she’d almost forgotten how easily Valentina would drop a compliment at any given moment. She’d used to protest about it, but almost a year of being together, and three years of being best friends before that, had shown that Valentina simply could not stop no matter how much Juliana balked.

“You look beautiful too, Val,” Juliana replied instead, turning around to adjust her girlfriend’s tank top. She moved on to smooth Valentina’s hair, combing it behind her shoulders.

Valentina stole a kiss during Juliana’s ministrations, smirking triumphantly as she pulled away.

“Ya,” Juliana said laughingly. She stepped away from Valentina for a moment to pick Mia up, putting the Pygmy Puff on her shoulder. With Mia securely hanging on to her, Juliana grabbed Valentina’s hand and led them out of her bedroom.

Juliana put her pet Pygmy Puff on the kitchen counter as she set about preparing dinner. Valentina leaned against the counter, stroking Mia’s fur as she watched Juliana pulling things out of cupboards and the refrigerator.

“What can I do?” Valentina asked.

Juliana handed her a bag of sliced carrots. “Feed Mia, please?”

Valentina smiled as she took the carrots, then smiled even wider when Juliana pecked her lips in thanks. She started feeding Mia, who chirped happily every time Valentina gave her a new slice.

Juliana stared at them for a moment, feeling like she was melting at the adorable sight in front of her. Getting a hold of herself, she shook her head and continued with her task.

Valentina finished feeding Mia a few minutes later. She gave the tiny Pygmy Puff a bowl of water to drink and left her to her own devices, turning her attention to Juliana.

Juliana had just opened a can of beans and was now starting to chop the array of vegetables and spices she’d laid out on the counter in front of her. Valentina took a moment to stare at her girlfriend. Juliana’s brows furrowed adorably in concentration, strands of her hair that had escaped its ponytail fell against her jaw as her hands moved expertly.

“Let me help, Juls,” Valentina offered after a moment. As much as she liked to watch Juliana focused on a task, she could not simply stand by while Juliana did a chore all by herself.

Juliana paused her chopping and looked up at Valentina with a sceptical expression.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Valentina protested, almost stomping her foot. “I’m not a complete failure in the kitchen anymore and you know it.”

Juliana chuckled. “No, you’re not,” she conceded. She took out another knife and chopping board and handed them to Valentina along with a tomato. “Here, will you chop this please?”

Valentina often asked to help when Juliana prepared meals. Juliana gave her the same task of chopping ingredients, without magic, every time she did so. Neither of them knew any kitchen-related magic, and anyway, Lupé had banned magic from any part of the apartment except for Juliana’s bedroom. She had imposed the rule after Panchito, her Muggle boyfriend, had almost seen Juliana summon something while he was entering the apartment.

Juliana knew that Valentina considered herself quite decent at her designated task, but she did it so slowly that Juliana would be finished chopping the rest of the ingredients by the time Valentina got done with a single one. Juliana did not mind. It made Valentina feel like she was contributing, which she was, and she looked so cute with her tongue sticking out as she carefully sliced a tomato.

Dinner was ready several minutes later, with Valentina managing to chop _two_ tomatoes before Juliana finished with the rest of the ingredients. Valentina picked Mia up as Juliana set the meal aside for the moment, and the two of them headed to the living room, where they waited for Lupé to arrive.

“So,” Valentina turned to Juliana as they sat on the sofa. “Wanna make out?” she asked, wiggling her eyebrows exaggeratedly.

Juliana laughed, but she gave Valentina a quick kiss before pulling back to pick up the TV remote control. She turned on the TV, scooting closer to Valentina as she browsed the channels.

Mia jumped from Valentina’s lap to Juliana’s, burrowing herself against Juliana’s stomach and chirping happily when Juliana stroked her fur. Valentina smiled at the sight. For all Juliana’s declarations that Mia loved Valentina best, the little Pygmy Puff enjoyed nothing more than being cuddled by Juliana. Mia had the right idea.

Valentina put her head on Juliana’s shoulder, pressing a kiss to her neck before turning to watch the television. Juliana put an arm around her, leaning her cheek against Valentina’s head. Neither one of them would want to be anywhere else. They were already in their favourite place in all the world -- right next to each other.

**Author's Note:**

> As I said above, I always knew I was going to do "time-skips" in this series. It's mainly because I knew I would get frustrated having to wait until they're a certain age before they become girlfriends, but I also didn't want to rush the early years. And if I got frustrated with this story, I probably would lose the motivation to complete it, and I really really want to complete it.
> 
> I'm still going to write the whole story, I just won't do it chronologically.
> 
> This "time-skip" in particular is because:  
> \- the next instalment ( _not_ a time-skip one) will take me longer to write  
> \- and I want the latest instalment - before that long period of wait - to be all sunshine and rainbows and GAY
> 
> I'm doing this mostly for myself because I don't want to write a slow-burn (which this kind of is, and only because they're babies when they met) without an assured payoff, but I hope some of you enjoyed this too. 🙂
> 
> Answers to questions no one would probably ask:
> 
> 1\. That "potion component of the Amortentia that gives it its scent" isn't actually canon. I made that up, and I'm calling it _amorscentia_. 😂 (Yes, I know it violates naming conventions.)
> 
> 2\. It's Parvati


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